What is a visa ?

Updated Mar. 24, 2026Refreshed annually
The C-1 visa is a nonimmigrant visa issued for tourism and business. Nonimmigrant visas are admitted for people who intend to stay in the US temporarily. C-1 visas accounted for 0.1% of all issued visas in FY 2024.
In FY 2024,

11.5K

visas issued by the US were C-1 visas
In FY 2024,

0.1%

of visas issued were C-1 visas
A visa is an official document the federal government issues to allow a foreign national to travel to a port of entry and request permission to enter for a specific purpose. While a visa does not guarantee entry, it indicates that the person has met the requirements for the type of visit they are requesting.
Visas don’t include permanent residency cards or applications for asylee or refugee status.

The C-1 visa, sometimes called a transit visa, is for foreign travelers on layovers in the US when the only reason for entering the US is to travel through. Crewmembers traveling through the US also need a class-D visa, which can be issued in combination with the C-1 visa.

The length of stay for a C-1 visa is typically limited to a short period and can not exceed 29 days.

What type of visa is a C-1 visa?

Visas are issued for one of five reasons: work, tourism/business, education, family, and safety. The C-1 visa is a tourism/business visa, which are for short-term visits such as travel, medical care, or business meetings.
Tourism/business visas make up 80.2% of all visas.

In 2024, 80.2% of all visas issued were for tourism and business.

Visas issued by type, 2024

How many C-1 visas are issued?

The State Department issued 11,451 C-1 visas in 2024. That was down 9.9% from the 12,707 issued in 2013, the earliest year of available data.
Overall issued visas fell 68% during the pandemic, from 8.7 million in 2019 to 2.8 million in 2021. By 2023, totals had returned to above pre-pandemic levels.

The State Department does not maintain a cap on C-1 visas.

The US issued 11,500 C-1 visas in 2024, down 9.9% from 2013.

Total C-1 visas issued, 2013–2024

Of all applications processed for C-1 visas in 2024, 69.8% were accepted. That acceptance rate was down from a peak of 85.2% in 2021.

Across the whole State Department, visas are accepted at a rate of 77%. Visas might be denied for a variety of reasons, including if the applicant:

  • Is deemed ineligible for the category
  • Has a communicable disease or any illness that could pose a threat to safety
  • Has been convicted of certain crimes
  • Has been previously removed from the US
  • Is a practicing polygamist
  • Submitted an incomplete application

C-1 visa applications were less likely to be accepted compared to all visas in 2024.

Visa acceptance rate, C-1 visas and all visas, 2013–2024

Who comes to the US on a C-1 visa?

For the 1st straight year, more C-1 visa recipients came from the Philippines than any other country in 2024 — the country’s 1,700 recipients made up 14.9% of total visas issued. The next-highest populations came from Burma (1,437 or 12.5%) and India (1,390 or 12.1%).

The countries with the most C-1 visa recipients overall were:

  1. Philippines (1,704)
  2. Burma (1,437)
  3. India (1,390)
  4. Zimbabwe (593)
  5. Peru (572)

In 2024, the most C-1 visa recipients were from Philippines.

C-1 visas issued by recipient’s home country, 2024

The countries with the highest number of C-1 visa recipients compared to their overall population were:

  1. Belize (0.3 per 1,000 people)
  2. Tuvalu (0.2)
  3. Marshall Islands (0.1)
  4. Nauru (0.1)
  5. Fiji (0.09)
Overall, people from 154 different countries and territories received C-1 visas.

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Methodology

USAFacts standardizes data, in areas such as time and demographics, to make it easier to understand and compare.

The analysis was generated with the help of AI and reviewed by USAFacts for accuracy.

Page sources

USAFacts endeavors to share the most up-to-date information available. We sourced the data on this page directly from government agencies; however, the intervals at which agencies publish updated data vary.